


your words are my words

by meinposhbastard



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Fluff, Happy Ending, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, M/M, Mutual Pining, Zora and friends invested in SidLink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:15:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28288290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meinposhbastard/pseuds/meinposhbastard
Summary: Link returns to Zora’s Domain in time to celebrate King Dorephan’s 146th birthday. Neither Link nor Sidon expect their feelings for each other to rekindle and overflow.
Relationships: Link/Prince Sidon
Comments: 14
Kudos: 145





	your words are my words

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ximeria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ximeria/gifts).



> This was for the prompt given by Xim, I think, 2 years ago: How is Link's return to Zora's Domain going to go? Sidon may have fancied himself high enough up to court Link when he'd 'only' dealt with Vah Ruta, but what about now? The champion of all of Hyrule? The bane of Dark Beast Ganon?  
> And Link? Maybe he just wants some peace and quiet?
> 
> This fic has been 2 years in the making. I can't believe I finally finished it. Wrote the last 2.2k today. Felt like it won't ever find an ending. Hope you enjoy the fluff and the light angst!
> 
> Loads of thanks to Xim for the quick beta!

* * *

***

Link stood on the edge of a cliff and looked down at the Zora Domain. It had become the only place Link had ever felt… at peace, if not at home. Travelling the whole country, he had seen many things, bad and good and in-between, but his heart had remained in Zora. The princess — now queen — had not insisted much for him to stay at the partially-restored castle. He had expected her to, considering that he’d been her faithful servant and friend for such a long time.

The wind was strong up there and he took out his scope and saw Muzu talking to a few young Zora females. Bazz was strolling leisurely on the second level and Trello was being playfully harassed by a handful of pups. They managed to push him into one of the pools before Link’s scope moved elsewhere, searching. 

He didn’t find what he was looking for. Maybe he was not in the domain. Maybe he was swimming in the East Reservoir Lake. Putting his scope back in, he jumped and unfolded his paraglider. 

The grandeur of such a domain was still breathtaking even after having been there so many times during the Ganon era. With its winding stairs and long, curved passages connecting the floating stone domain to the landscape around it, the small and big pools sheltered under dexterously carved arches and high ceilings for the Zora to enjoy and sleep in — it felt as if this domain had never lived a reign of terror under Ganon.

It was as if the Zora had been cut perfectly from another time and place and put there, in that scooped out place surrounded by both mountains and lakes. 

He took in the domain while he was softly descending towards one of the guarded entrances, but in reality his eyes were looking for that one person who he’d been searching for in all the Zora he encountered across Lanayru region.

“Oh! Link, our Champion! It’s good to see you back!” the southern gate guard said upon seeing him.

Link approached him.

“How have you been? I heard you defeated Ganon! That’s such an impressive feat! Will you be staying here with us? Are you just passing by? Did you get lost? Or are you here to cook? Hm? But you could have teleported. The shrine is still active.”

A boisterous guard; he missed the Zora enthusiasm. He signed ‘I’ve come to visit and stay for a while’. Suffice to say that the guard yipped like a Zora pup.

Yes, he could have teleported, but when he decided to come to the domain — the pull towards it so strong, but familiar — he was already nearby. And he wanted to collect some hearty truffles and a bit of the silent princess because he remembered he wanted to try a new recipe he learned about in Kakariko village.

“Balrok, is that how a guard behaves in the presence of our Champion?” Muzu questioned in his no-nonsense, scratchy voice, and Link smiled slightly in recognition. “Show some respect, recruit!”

Immediately, Balrok straightened, his spear creating an angle with his foot before he brought it in front of him, striking the ground once.

“Yessir! Apologies, Champion!”

Link shook his head and signed words of reassurance.

“Have you come to celebrate King Dorephan’s birthday?” Muzu asked, ignoring the guard.

He was still crouching as if age had become a heavy weight for one such as him. It still amazed Link that there were Zora like Prince Sidon, but then it shouldn’t have since the king was even bigger than the prince. The height difference between himself and Sidon always had Link in awe, but also something else that he was not quite sure he wanted to admit to just yet.

He signed ‘birthday?’ and Muzu nodded before leading the way into the domain.

***

The webbing between his fingers caught the imperceptible vibrations that a Zora spear made when it was banged against the smooth stone. It made him turn his head at once towards the southern entrance, anticipation building up underneath his skin.

“Prince Sidon, no! The flower string!” one of the pups squealed in distress, diving to catch it.

She managed to secure the string just as Sidon caught her before she injured herself. She was but the length of half of his forearm, which made it easier for her to climb Sidon’s body to adorn flowers on his head and around his neck.

At first, his fan club requested that they help pretty Sidon up, but he politely refused, feeling the need to be alone with his thoughts and not feel obliged to exude positivity and charm like he always did, even if it was his father’s birthday. He also didn’t see a point in dressing up when his father would compliment him no matter how he looked. But then the three pups gathered around him with those big doe eyes asking in those little, delicate voices for Sidon to allow their masterpieces to adorn him, and Sidon couldn’t very well say no to such adorable ladies.

So that was how he ended up sitting cross-legged on the second level, right below the throne room, enjoying the view beyond the lake.

That was, until the guard’s spear touched the ground.

“What is it, my liege?” the one putting the flowers around his neck said, most probably feeling the change in his behavior.

_Link. Link is here!_

He couldn’t even say the words out loud from how strongly the emotions surged forward to grip ferociously at his throat. Even his body temperature, usually close to the cool water temperature, rose a few degrees above that.

“I apologize, my strong warrioresses, but I must go now.”

“Aw, why? We were just applying the final touches,” the littlest of the three quipped in a voice so soft and delicate that Sidon had to look down at her.

He offered her a smile. Not the full-teeth, energetic one, but a gentler version of it, as he caressed her hammerhead.

“I must greet a dear friend of mine who—”

The other two girls looked at him at once, an excited glint in their eyes. 

“Did the Champion come back?” asked Fera, the oldest.

“Did Link really defeat the Dark Beast?” Fera’s twin, Ilef, said.

“Will you two get married?” 

That had Sidon directing his attention towards the youngest, her delicate voice pronouncing those words reverberating in his mind.

“My liege,” Muzu interrupted before Sidon’s impaired tongue could utter a syllable, “our Champion has arrived.”

All three girls jumped off his lap and shoulder with a cheer and pooled around Link with those little expressions of awe as if he was the reason the sun was shining.

For Sidon it was.

Because… Link. _Link is here! Link is— ever so beautiful, and strong, and adorable, and brilliant, and—_

Muzu cleared his throat at his side and he blinked himself out of his reverie. “My prince, I believe it is customary to greet our Champion.”

Even seated, Sidon was still almost two heads taller than Link, and he went to stand up, but then reconsidered. He liked this distance better.

“My dearest friend,” his voice boomed and the girls looked up at him, just as Link did, a smile blooming on his handsome Hylian features, “you have been missed! Welcome back to Zora! I hope you had a pleasant journey back! Have you eaten yet? If not let me go catch some fish for—”

“My liege,” Muzu interrupted, voice a bit strained, “it is your father’s birthday. There’s a buffet up in the throne room.”

“Ah! That is correct! Then let us go now and partake of the many dishes our people cooked for the king. I’m sure my father would be delighted to see you have returned!”

“But—” the smallest one, Ipha, quipped, her whole demeanor changing from excited to timid, “we wanted to pretty up our Champion like we did with you, my prince.”

“Yes,” Fera said, a fire burning in her eyes, “he is your dearest friend! He deserves to be prettier than Rahe when he greets the king!”

“Ah,” Ilef added, “but not prettier than you, my prince.”

“No,” the other two agreed in unison and shook their heads in sync.

Sidon chuckled. “He is certainly prettier than me. Link is the most beautiful Hylian I have seen in more than a century!”

As soon as the words were out and the girls ‘ooh’ed at him, he noticed that Link’s usually lightly tanned skin had acquired a darker shade. It promptly made Sidon’s thoughts scramble and then regroup into one.

 _So beautiful…_ was the thought that bounced back and forth in his mind as he watched Link try and fail to make eye contact with him for a few seconds, before he let his gaze roam over Sidon’s entire body. Sidon didn’t think it was possible to have such attention bestowed upon him and feel so deeply as if the distance between them was the most grievous insult Sidon had ever been exposed to.

Muzu cleared his throat when nobody said anything for a while. “My prince, maybe it’s time you let the pups take care of our Champion. The preparations are still in full swing.”

“Right!” And now he did stand, thrilling when Link’s gaze followed him up until he had to lean back his head. “I shall meet you in the throne room, then. Fear not, my dear friend, you are in the best hands Zora has!” he said, striking his signature pose, which he knew always made Link smile.

Link signed ‘see you later’ and Sidon watched for a while as the girls dragged him to another part of the level where, presumably, they had their stashes of flowers.

Muzu cleared his throat. “The king has requested that you show around the Gerudo dignitaries until the celebrations start.”

That would mean for another two hours. It was customary that every birthday be celebrated when the sun was setting and well into the night; exception being made for kids under a decade.

“Have we heard anything about the Goron and Rito dignitaries?”

“The Goron excused themselves this year and promised to make it up to us next week. The Rito dignitaries should be on their way as we speak.”

“I see. Then I shall give the tour to the Gerudo dignitaries in the meantime,” he said and went to fetch the dignitaries from the throne room.

***

Ripp, Barta, and Liana were trailing behind him as he showed them the Zora history written in stones left behind by their ancestors. He was explaining the third monument on the west shore of the Ruto Lake about the tradition of Zora princesses to craft the armour of their future husbands when Kass and his wife, Amali, along with their five hatchlings flew over to them.

“Prince Sidon,” Amali said, inclining her head, strong chest pushed forward.

“Why, haven’t you grown up!” Kass chirped, his accordion releasing a few notes to compliment the tone of his voice with something grave, like a _dun-dun_ but sweeter and, dare Sidon admit, mischievous in tone.

“Minstrel Kass, Amali.” He smiled graciously. “What a pleasure to see you have made it to our domain. Has the journey been light?”

“As light as the capricious winds of the Lanayru region will ever let it be, dear boy,” Kass said.

Sidon nodded and turned towards the Gerudo women. “May I present to you the Gerudo dignitaries: Ripp, Barta and Liana. They have been most gracious with their patience in listening to me reminisce about the Zora history. In fact, I was in the middle of—”

“Ah!” Kass said, having already made his way closer to the carved stone. “The Miracle of the White Scale!”

“The princess story you used to tell us, papa?” one of the hatchlings chirped from behind her mother where her four sisters were perfectly aligned as if expecting their father to give them the signal to start singing.

“That is precisely it,” Kass said with pride in his voice.

Without hesitation, the five hatchlings began intoning a song so light and beautiful and full of hope that Sidon found himself closing his eyes and instead of reliving the story of the princess that he knew by heart, he remembered the first time he saw and talked to Link before the defeat of Calamity Ganon. How could he have not recognised him then? Might have been night and heavy rain, but Link’s features and garb were not things that a Zora forgot so easily.

Granted, more than a century had passed since the last time Sidon had seen Link, and he had been but just a pup, still tangled in his own emotions connected to his sister. Back then he had only seen a rival for his sister’s affections and not someone who he could become friends with, let alone— 

“Prince Sidon?”

He opened his eyes and saw that every dignitary was looking at him. The song had ceased, too.

“Apologies, my friends, I let myself be transported back into some dear memories. Now, shall we move forward to the next monument or would you like to see the shrine at the center of the domain?”

“I’d like to see where the food is kept,” Barta murmured, and her stomach wholeheartedly agreed.

Sidon released a hearty laugh and led the way, not before Liana threw Barta a narrow look and Ripp checked her foot with a strong kick.

“Prince Sidon,” Kass said, coming to walk right beside him.

“Yes, my friend?”

Barta was engaging Amali in a conversation right behind them and the hatchlings were firing question after question about everything they saw on the other two Gerudo soldiers to the point where Sidon, internally, winced in sympathy for them. But they seemed to take each question seriously, the answer reflecting that.

“I couldn’t help but notice that the Champion is here.”

“Ah, yes, that is correct. Link has arrived this early afternoon to celebrate my father’s birthday.”

Kass fell silent for a few steps. “That is most unusual.”

“How so?”

“He was just in Rito Village this morning and when one of my hatchlings, Kheel, asked about where he was headed to next, he said that he would probably return to Hyrule Castle to help the queen with the restoration.”

“Oh, I see. Well, he must have remembered my father’s birthday on his way and decided to drop by.”

“Do you know for how long he will be staying here?”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

***

He desperately wanted to hug the Hylian that was standing near one of the tables filled with food as Dento was talking to him, because it was impossible to look so enchanting and not make Sidon wish he could gather him to his chest and keep him there forever. There weren’t as many flower garlands adorning him as there were on Sidon, but the colors were different than his. There was the white and blue, yellow and a bit of red peeking right above his left ear. And his Hylian blue tunic had little blue flowers sewn into the edges of the collar that reacted to the absence of light.

But he could not. Hug him, that was. It was unbecoming. Link was their Champion. He had fought hard and endured many hardships to free the kingdom of the oppressive dark forces. He deserved better. 

“You only have eyes for him, my son,” his father said.

Sidon gazed across the room at his precious friend from where he stood on the round platform at his father’s left.

“I do,” he acquiesced, his heart skipping a beat at the truth in those words as he stroked at the center of his chest.

After a long pause, his father said, “it hurt when I met your mother, too.”

That brought Sidon’s attention up to his father. “What do you mean?”

The king’s kind eyes climbed down to the hand that was stroking his skin. “It was the best kind of hurt because I knew that she would be the only one for me.”

Sidon opened his mouth to ask for clarification, but it struck him before he uttered anything, and he turned at once, his gaze finding Link in a heartbeat. Link who was looking back at him with a smile, the kind that Sidon had never seen before, and flushed cheeks. Link who was making his way towards Sidon. 

But just as he climbed the last step, his attention fell on the king.

He signed his father’s name and title and then asked about his health. 

His father’s booming laughter filled the room and attracted one or two heads, but the rest were used to his loudness. “I am, Champion. I am also overjoyed that you could join us this evening.”

Link nodded and then turned his head towards Sidon, who felt, again, overwhelmed with the most inexplicable of feelings.

He signed his hopes that Sidon was enjoying himself, and Sidon’s heart did something perilous in his chest to the point that he had to massage the center of it once again. 

“I am,” Sidon answered, losing his usual jovial tone of voice.

The weakness in his voice spread to his entire body and he had to lock his knees to keep himself upright. It was becoming more than difficult to be in Link’s presence and not feel this insane bout of jitters running up and down underneath his skin. As if that was his first swimming lesson with his sister and he could not concentrate on what she was telling him to do once in the water. He only saw water.

He only saw Link.

But then Muzu clapped his palms to draw everyone’s attention. 

“Your attention, Zora and guests, the clock is five minutes to midnight.” Cheers from the younger pups filled the room, followed by laughter from the adults and their guests. “If you would, my king.”

“Link!” Sidon drew his attention. His dear friend was already looking around him in confusion, before the tremors began. “If you would join us in the swimming race it would mean a lot to— my father.”

“What?” he croaked, the first word he said since arriving.

“It’s a custom we have. The king’s birthday is celebrated through a friendly race in the East Reservoir Lake. It starts at midnight. I’d like it if you were my partner.”

Truth to be told, there was no rule that people had to swim with someone. They could enjoy the race on their own. They would swim close to each other, anyway, so the sense of camaraderie was never lost. Usually the king himself would join them, but he preferred to watch from the sidelines nowadays, rather than participate. And Sidon knew that it wasn’t because he couldn’t swim or he was too old for that, but because it transmitted a sense of community and peace when he saw his people enjoy themselves during such an important day for him and the domain.

And then there was the fact that the royal family was the last to begin the race.

Link asked about the destination with his hands. 

The tremors grew in potency as people filed out of the throne room, the young and eager ones running to get to the dam where Link did the trials to calm down and return control of Vah Ruta to his sister. The king’s seat began descending, taking a different route to reach that point than the rest of them.

“That would be Rutala Dam. There is no prize, just racing each other and enjoying the time spent together.”

Link took the Sheikah Slate from his belt and selected the Zora armor which materialized on him and made Sidon suck in a breath. He had seen Link dressed like that before, but not as many times that it would stop making his heart skip a beat, because no other Hylian could don such an armor and make Sidon wade through a wave of intense emotions.

But then again, there was no one like Link, so Sidon might be beyond recovery.

“There won’t be any need for your Zora armor. It would only hinder us. Simple garb will do.”

Link nodded and changed back to his Hylian trousers and tunic, without the boots.

They hurried towards the place, taking the long stairs up. Link kept looking back at Sidon in confusion, most probably because he was expecting him to at least be at his side if not in front of him, considering his height and leg span. But Sidon preferred this. Not the distance, but the fact that Link was physically where he should be. And symbolically always outside Sidon’s reach.

In his heart Link was in the highest position imaginable.

Reaching the platform, where people were already excited at the prospect of a friendly race, Sidon intercepted the king, already in the water, kept afloat on his throne by an undercurrent he manipulated. 

“Look, the Champion will join us!” Someone in the mass of Zora and guests said and everybody’s attention turned on them at once.

“That is correct, my friends,” Sidon’s jovial voice pulled their attention. “Our Champion shall swim with us tonight to celebrate our kind and generous king’s 146th birthday!”

Everybody cheered and then turned towards the lake, fanning out until they formed a multi-colored single line along the shore. The Rito Village dignitaries would fly above the water with them to respect the medium the two cultures felt most comfortable with. The Gerudo wanted to brave the lake, some Zora families welcoming them to swim by their side. They had pups who, even though the water was their medium, couldn’t match a full-fledged Zora’s speed. Sidon came to stand a few steps behind the line, Link joining him a few seconds after, his warmth radiating against Sidon’s thigh. 

“Ready,” Sidon said, more a command than a question, and everybody crouched, silence falling over the crowd as they were pending on the next action Sidon was going to take.

He made eye contact with his father who was smiling in that excited way that he didn’t often see on his old face. It made Sidon feel proud of himself and his father and the people they were in care of and taking care of at the same time. Then he blew the whistle he kept around his neck, one sharp thrill, and they shot into the water as if everybody, Zora and non, had been born in the water and craved to return to it.

“Are you ready, Link?” Sidon asked, excitement and anticipation building in the pit of his stomach.

He was about to do something that would send strong signals to his kin and whoever knew about Zora and their customs. The excitement was getting to his head and he felt he could win this race just because Link would be at his side.

When he looked down at his companion, a mischievous smile crested his lips and the air got stuck in Sidon’s lungs. Afterwards, it was hard for him to breathe normally and not feel as if something was obstructing his airways.

The line of Zora and friends was becoming more black dots and joyful short cheers as some of the young ones jumped out of the water to show off their prowess.

It was hard to breathe, yes, but more because of what he was about to do than the memory of that smile Link could summon.

His muscles tensed and he jumped into the lake a moment later, seeing from the corner of his eye that Link jumped in almost at the same time. This synchronization was surely due to the time they worked together to calm Vah Ruta. He took hold of Link’s hand and pulled him closer.

“Link,” he said, their faces illuminated by the moon’s reflection in the water. “I want you to ride me.”

Link’s breath caught in his throat in a strangled gasp and Sidon was sure this language they communicated in had other, more appropriate words to describe what Sidon wanted from Link, but he went for the most straight-forward ones he knew.

“Like we did for Vah Ruta.”

Link opened his mouth as if to speak, but then closed it and nodded. Hesitating, his hand covered a small portion of his bicep, right underneath his shoulder. Sidon reigned himself in and made his body turn around so Link could climb on his back, even though everything in himself, down to the most infinitesimal part, wanted to gather his Hylian close to him and never let him go.

His thighs came to bracket his ribs and his hand gripped the other’s wrist right over his neck piece. Sidon closed his eyes and tried to breathe properly. With slightly trembling hands he separated Link’s.

“You’re better off grabbing the shoulder part of my adornment,” he said, moving them to the appropriate place. “You run the risk of losing your grip as my skin is very slippery.”

Then he palmed Link’s knees and thighs and moved them lower, around his hips. Link gasped, now his whole front plastered to Sidon’s back and his body might be hyper-sensitive, but he felt as if he had a furnace strapped to his back. His palms glided down the side of his legs and over his naked ankles and feet. Link’s left foot jolted when Sidon allowed his palm to caress the sole. He gently slipped Link’s ankles into the piece of jewellery adorning his middle, careful to have Link’s trousers protect his ankle from chaffing.

“There. Now you are secured. I will swim faster than last time and I want to be sure that I won’t lose you at any point.” He looked out towards the far side of the lake. The others, even the slow ones, almost couldn’t be seen, which meant that they would have reached the middle of the lake. “Ready, my— friend?”

His only response was the harsh breathing and the hands that pulled slightly on his shoulder piece.

He waded further away from the shore, calm and softly, letting Link adjust himself to the change in their position, the water lapping at his sides. When Link stopped moving on his back, Sidon sprinted like a fish that broke free from its imprisonment.

Link’s whole body clamped down on Sidon and Sidon thought his body would falter right there and then and send them rippling across the surface of the lake. But he had a better grip on his feelings, even if the Champion, simply by existing and breathing in Sidon’s vicinity, threatened every lesson in manners and princedom that Muzu had inculcated in him.

He tore through the water with pure joy and determination. The line of Zora and friends was getting closer. He was in and out of water and the furnace on his back didn’t let go once.

This was what Sidon had been craving for so long. A companion with whom to share this experience, the sheer freedom that the water allowed for, the sensation that they were the only ones in the world, that nothing and nobody would ever reach them.

They surpassed families and the Gerudo dignitaries, one of them repeating in a high pitched tone of voice that they were going to die. Not if there was any Zora nearby, even a pup. Zora protected their own, family and friends. More so when that someone was special to a Zora.

Most of the people participating in the race were already on the shore cheering for the ones that were still in the water.

Then, in a moment of pure boyish delight he sprinted out of the water into a quite high arc. High enough that the Zora waiting on the shore could see it and cheer correspondingly. But he didn’t pay them any attention because the furnace plastered to his back like a band tightened instantly. The gasp that warmed the back of his neck made him shiver before they plunged back into the water.

He hurried to break the surface of the water again. He should feel guilty for this; he took something from the Champion without his knowledge. The king would be most displeased with his own son if he knew about this. But Sidon wanted to be selfish in this moment because he did not know when such an opportunity would present itself again.

The Champion belonged to everybody in Hyrule, but in that moment Link belonged only to Sidon. He was Sidon’s to care for and protect, and he would not disappoint. Even if that meant declaring some things which Link was not privy to.

Just before Sidon reached the shore, Link’s arms came around his neck and his breath fanned warm and fast over the left side of his face.

“Thank you,” was whispered roughly into the side of his face and he thought he felt something feverish and wet pressed into his cheek before someone pulled Link up, but that might be just the water.

***

Liana helped Link up on the shore and a lot of slaps on his shoulder and back succeeded which made Link feel all sorts of jittery. He never experienced such a ride. It definitely didn’t compare to the one when Link calmed Vah Ruta down.

Many congratulated him, others said something about “no ride will ever compare to that” and “it’s for life, so you better take care of our most precious jewel” which he didn’t understand in the least bit. The amount of noise that the people surrounding him made, had him feel overwhelmed and slightly dizzy. They were all talking and cheering and sometimes shouting over the noise to be heard by someone else farther away. Zora kept coming to the shore and cheers kept filling the air, encouraging whoever it was to swim faster. 

But then a hand landed on his shoulder, big and cushiony and when he looked up, Sidon was smiling down at him. Not his winsome smile or his princely one. No. It was a more private one and Link was bereft of breath because he had never seen such a smile gracing the prince’s lips.

Then the Zora came in closer, breaking into their own private bubble, and Link instinctively stepped back, plastering his back to Sidon’s stomach and thigh and feeling the water seeping into his clothes. He shivered, and it was like a hiccough his body engaged into, because the next moment he felt his temperature rising steadily.

That had been happening for a while now and he couldn’t figure out why.

Many more congratulations followed, but this time Sidon’s entire build seemed to somehow protect him. And more than that, the moment Sidon’s other hand came down and covered Link’s chest, a lot of the frontliners stepped back as if that had been a distinctive sign for them to leave some breathing space.

Soon, the teenage Zora yote themselves into the water with cheers and challenges, and sprinted across the cold lake. 

“Champion,” Kass said, his acordeon intoning a few notes. “It’s good to see you here.”

Link smiled and stepped forward to greet the minstrell.

“Link! Link!” One of the hatchlings, Kheel, the purple one, stepped forward, singing a few notes at the end. “We’ve practiced a new song! Wanna hear?”

“It’s different than the one at the Warbler’s Nest!” Cree, the blue hatchling intoned, following her sister’s enthusiasm.

“We made it so you don’t need a leaf to copy the sounds. They’re simpler,” Notts, the red one, said.

“Now, now, girls,” Amali intervened, “it is past your bedtime. You can show the Champion your song tomorrow morning. For now we need to go back to our guest nests.”

“Aw, do we really?” Genli intoned with a few sad notes. Her green plumage looked almost blue in the moonlight.

Link signed his answer, but the hatchlings didn’t quite know the sign language Link used, so they looked up at their mother for translation.

“The Champion said that he’d be happy to hear your song tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, okay,” Kheel said, still sad, but resigning herself to waiting a full night until she and her sisters could showcase their song.

“Now come, girls, time to go to bed.”

“Is daddy coming?” Genli asked.

“I will be with you in a few, girls,” Kass answered.

Amali and her hatchlings flew back to the platform. Sidon had been a silent wall behind Link, and he didn’t dare look back at the prince. A strange feeling assaulted his chest and no matter how much he tried to win back control over himself, he couldn’t muster the courage to turn around. So he resolved to listen to what Kass wanted to say.

“I wanted to thank you for freeing Vah Medoh. It eases the Rito’s hearts to know that the Divine Beast isn’t controlled by an enemy.” Kass looked beyond Link and Sidon, losing himself in his thoughts for a while. 

Link waited. It was quite strange to not hear anything from Sidon. Usually his jovial self would have added something or other to the conversation. This time, it felt as if Sidon was not there, not present in the moment. Really, Link was itching to turn around and look at the prince, but ever since he stepped forward, away from his strong arm and chill body, the prince hadn’t moved a muscle, let alone talked.

He signed and put Kass’ mind at ease, explaining that he had needed their help to defeat Ganon.

“That is quite true, Champion.” He looked up, above Link and he knew that he was gazing at Sidon. “You two have left quite an impression tonight.”

A jolt warmed and cooled Link’s back.

“Based on what the Zora said, this was how you managed to calm Vah Ruta down.”

Link signed again, explaining how the prince helped him navigate the waters so that he could get close to the beast and calm her down. 

Kass nodded. “I also heard that you met—” his gaze flicked up at Sidon, “the late Princess Mipha when you defeated the Waterblight.”

Link nodded, signing that she had offered him her Grace which had helped him a lot. 

Then Kass’ gaze turned to Sidon. “Have you been on Vah Ruta since Link freed her?”

“I have,” Sidon said, his voice quiet, tired, vulnerable. Link couldn’t understand what he was feeling in that moment. “Countless times.”

“Did you feel her presence?”

Link didn’t know what expression Sidon wore or if he made any gesture, but Kass nodded as if Sidon gave him the answer.

“I have been on Vah Medoh countless times myself. Sometimes I thought I could feel Revali’s presence there.” Then he huffed, though it sounded a bit like a soft whistle. “I believe those times were his ghost rebuffing my choice in songs. What was an old minstrell like me doing on a Divine Beast, disturbing the peace of her Champion?” He laughed and Link smiled, even though he didn’t quite feel it. “But I believe he was also soothed by my songs.”

“I haven’t felt Mipha since—”

“Since our Champion defeated Ganon.”

Why did he feel a stab in his chest at Sidon’s tone of voice?

“I think the Champions are finally resting, knowing that their wait has finally paid off.”

“You speak the truth, minstrell Kass,” Sidon said, a trickle of his old self coming back. “Thanks to Link and his determination, my sister could finally move on, reassured that the kingdom is safe.”

Link excused himself and took off, climbing the mountain side as fast as he could.

Sidon called for him once, but he didn’t stop. He needed to escape; needed to get his bearings again. Something was happening to him that made the control he had over himself slip. And that happened when he was in Sidon’s presence.

Why?

It never happened before, when he visited Zora for various quests or just to come say hi and recover. Sure, his chest still filled with the kind of warmth that had been so unfamiliar to him, but ultimately nothing worth worrying over. He had blight and Ganon to defeat.

But now, free of every sort of mission, free of the burden to free a country from enemy forces, Link was— bereft of purpose.

Then why did he come here instead of going to Hyrule Castle to help Queen Zelda with the restoration? He was always welcome there. There and in every other place he’d been before.

So why Zora? What was here that pulled him so strongly?

He sat on the highest point of the mountain and looked over the Zora Domain, letting his thoughts come and go until the turmoil inside him calmed down.

***

He did not see Sidon that night or early in the morning. Link managed to half convince himself that he should just take off and leave the Zora for Hyrule Castle. That seemed like the safest option. Of course, Zelda would be on his case, asking all the questions a worried best friend would because Link knew that his face said all to someone who knew him as well as Zelda did.

He still ended up calling her on his Sheikah slate. It didn’t surprise him when she answered after the first beep and looked as fresh as if she had woken up hours ago. The sun was barely rising.

“Link! How good to see you!” Zelda’s voice came through, the smile warm and welcoming. A knot in Link’s stomach dissolved and he smiled back just as warmly.

He signed a greeting.

“How have you been? The king told me that you have arrived yesterday and spent his birthday with them.”

Link told her that he was fine and that he had indeed spent the birthday with the Zora. An uncomfortable feeling constricted his chest when he thought about the ride he had received from Sidon. 

“How is Sidon?” she asked blithely and Link smiled and told her that he was good, but there was something in her eyes that made Link stop himself before he told her about the ride. “I’m glad. Anything new?”

He told her about the Gerudo and the Rito dignitaries and the fact that he had a mini-concert to attend to in a few hours, put together by Kass’ hatchlings. Zelda laughed good-naturedly at that and Link grinned, actually excited to hear what they came up with. 

Zelda told him about the slow goings of her plans to restore the castle and the ruins around, the many setbacks she’d had and how she still began her days with a positive attitude. Link didn’t expect less from his best friend. He couldn’t have kept the fond smile at bay even if he wanted to and carefully his finger touched the screen where her cheek was, thinking how much he missed his friend. But also thinking how good it felt to have his body pressed so close on Sidon’s back.

He pulled his hand back. The prince had only been kind to him, had always shown him respect and encouraged him when he felt down. Such thoughts as those surfacing whenever he thought about the lake ride had no place there.

“What’s wrong?” Zelda asked and Link looked back at her from where he had been staring just above the top, left corner of the slate.

He shook his head and smiled reassuringly.

“No, I know that pensive look. What’s troubling you, my friend?”

Still, Link refused to say anything, pulling the card that she was already busy enough and his troubles were inconsequential.

“Nonsense! You are my friend, Link. I worry about you. Ever since we defeated Ganon you’ve been drifting from place to place. I let you be because I understand how difficult it can be to settle and accept that there is no enemy to look out for or to defeat. I sometimes wake up, my powers pushing forth to fire against an enemy that’s not there. I still get that knee-jerk reaction that Ganon is just behind a door or hides in the shadows of a room. One of the projects for restoring the castle has larger windows in it. And more candle light. But having a focus works for me. It keeps the past at bay, it makes it easier to transition from one era to another. Maybe it’s time for you to find your focus.”

Link was momentarily frozen in place. He hadn’t known that Zelda had been dealing with her past pouring into her present. He didn’t even know what he thought, just that Zelda had been throwing herself into her new role as Queen of Hyrule with everything she got and that left Link alone to find his own path. Sure, she had offered him more than once to take on the role of head of the royal guards, but it had never appealed to him. Not just the idea of being stuck in one place for the rest of his life, but the fact that he had no idea how to be a captain of the guards in the first place.

He had always worked alone and suddenly being entrusted with the care and training of a big number of Hylians was something that Link did not feel in the slightest bit prepared for. 

Link nodded at her, suddenly feeling guilty that he wasn’t there at her side. He signed an apology and Zelda frowned.

“What for?”

He came clean then. He told her everything that troubled him, every insecurity, every doubt, every feeling of being uncomfortable in his own skin, in the new world. She listened, not interrupting him once, and by the time he finished signing, his left hand throbbed faintly from tensing and relaxing so many times around the different signs.

“I understand now, Link,” she said, determination and relief painted on her face. “And you are right when you say that it’s difficult to get used to how things are now. And yes, maybe you won’t ever find your place, used to travel as you are, but maybe you’re looking at it from the wrong angle.”

Link frowned and asked for clarifications.

“It’s possible that your place is not a _where_ but a _who.”_

His frown deepened and the first thought that crossed his mind was Zelda and the castle. But that didn’t quite feel right. He would be there by her side, if he felt that that was his place to be. 

Then he looked up, over the slate and over the ridge of the Shatterback Point at the Zora Domain, followed by Sidon and the sheer happiness that bloomed on his face the moment he saw Link. He would always be welcomed there and in every other domain he had been in. But he wasn’t after that. It didn’t warm him from the inside knowing that, even though he found comfort in the thought that no matter where he travelled in the kingdom, there would always be friends and allies welcoming him.

What did warm him incomprehensibly was the way Sidon looked at him, the way he seemed to gather Link softly to himself through his gaze alone. He had never experienced such a feeling, before or after waking up from his one hundred years of sleep. 

***

“Something is troubling you, my son.”

Sidon had heard the hinges pulling his father’s throne up in the throne room, but he hadn’t left the spot near one of the arching openings, giving him a great view over the East Reservoir Lake, his eyes scrutinizing the shores and the walls of the mountains in search of Link. With a deep sigh, he turned and approached his king.

“It is nothing, father.” The king waited, patient as always and Sidon felt a decade old again, crumbling under his father’s calm, fond gaze. He bowed his head with a deep sigh. “It is Link.”

“I believe the Champion’s role is to bring relief to those who seek his help, not trouble them further,” his father teased gently.

“It is not—” Sidon took a deep breath, calming himself and bringing back to the fore of his mind every lesson Muzu had inculcated in him. Eloquence was among the most important ones for a prince. “Link has no fault in this. It is I who bears the blame, though I do not wish to take back my actions.”

His father gave him an encouraging, curious look.

“Yesterday, during the ride, I may or may not have made a statement that— I did not discuss prior with our Champion.”

His father nodded, comprehension trickling in. “The Honesty Swim.”

Sidon grimaced, pressing his lips together. If his father knew about it, then Sidon was really a terrible friend and an even more terrible son for not having discussed his intentions with his father before. He would have advised Sidon. 

“There was nothing honest about it. I have taken away the decision from Link.”

“Have you?”

He nodded, dejected. “An Honesty Swim maintains that both parties consent and are aware of it prior to the swim, but— I am ashamed of myself, father. I was too cowardly to ask him beforehand and instead decided for myself while we swam.”

The king nodded and then stood up from his throne, approaching Sidon. His hand laid gently over Sidon’s shoulders and he made great efforts to stay rigidly upright and not crumble into his father’s side like the inner child in him desperately wanted to.

“I acknowledge that although your heart was in the right place, your mind chose a more complicated path to reach your destination. Have you talked to him?”

And Sidon sagged at that, but not in relief. The guilt had been eating away at him the whole night. He leaned slightly into his father’s hand, drawing comfort from it.

“I have tried to locate Link, but thus far it has been impossible.” He looked up at his father, his panic rising insidiously. “What if he decided to leave in the middle of the night? Have you been in contact with Queen Zelda? I fear he felt pressured and uncomfortable and could not bear to look at me anymore. Father, I have ruined a beautiful friendship!”

His father drew him into his side, both hands protectively covering his back and Sidon closed his eyes tightly and concentrated on calming his breathing. 

“Try to breathe, my son,” the king said gently. “I understand that you might have rushed the process, but I do not believe for one second that our Champion would have left the Domain without at least paying his respects. Have a little faith in him.”

“I have all the faith in our Champion,” Sidon said, his chest hurting. “It is the faith in me that I have lost.”

“Nonsense, my boy. You are simply overwhelmed with emotions. And rightly so.” Sidon looked up at his father. “I saw how you look at him. You love him dearly.”

“I do.”

“I will confess a secret now. A secret that most Zora and our friends partake because it is impossible not to notice. Well, except you, my son.” Surprise filled Sidon as he waited for his father to tell him about this secret. “There is no mistake that Link responds to you much the same way you do to him.”

That made Sidon frown. “It is not possible.”

“How so?”

Sidon elected to push out of his father’s embrace and pace before him, hands gesturing as he talked. “Link is kind to everyone. I am no exception to that. He cares about everyone. He saved all of us from Ganon. If he responds like that to me, it is only because he considers me a friend, just like everyone else.”

His father chuckled. “Oh, my son. You have excelled in so many areas pertaining to your role as a prince, but you have yet to understand your heart.”

“I do not understand. My heart is as clear to me as a cloudless sky on a summer day.”

“Sometimes, too much light can become confusing.”

He frowned, trying to parse his father’s wisdom, but unable to make heads nor tails of it.

“My king,” Muzu interrupted, stepping just inside the room. “My liege, I am sorry to interrupt, but Dignitary Barta has found our Champion. They are heading here as we speak.”

That was the moment Sidon realized that even though he was filled with excitement and happiness at seeing Link, at knowing that his dear friend had not left, he was also _not prepared_ to face Link. Not in the state he was in, because he feared he would ruin their friendship further, if he was allowed to share breathing space with him.

Thus, he did the only logical action that his mind could come up with: he ran and punted himself over the edge and into the lake surrounding the domain.

***

Link and Barta came into the throne room to see both Muzu and the king release a long sigh as they were looking over to the right of the throne where a windowless gap in the stone walls regaled them with a beautiful view of the East Reservoir Lake.

“Did something happen?” Barta asked which pulled the Zora’s attention.

“Nothing to be concerned about,” the king replied, taking a seat on his throne. “Thank you, Dignitary Barta, for finding our Champion. We were starting to worry.”

“It’s no trouble, great King Dorephan,” she said, bowing awkwardly because she wasn’t used to bow before anyone but her chieftain, Riju.

Link flushed when the king’s gentle and knowing gaze moved to him. “Is there something troubling you, Champion?” the king asked and Link felt as if the question hid more than the king’s open expression was telling him.

He shook his head, then signed that he had been just thinking about inconsequential things.

“They mustn’t be as unimportant as you make them sound, if they kept you away from the Domain.”

Guilt washed over him at the gentle rebuke. He should have returned to the Domain after he had hastily — and rudely — left Sidon and Kass on the shore. But he’d found a place high in one of the trees on Shatterback Point and had fallen asleep at some point.

He glanced at the king, then away, unable to hold that gaze and feel as if the king could see everything he was still not sure how to interpret.

“Well, no matter,” the king said when the pause grew long. “If you are looking for my son, he took to swimming in the lake beneath the domain. It seems to help with his bravery as of late.”

Muzu made a sound that was swiftly followed by a delicate cough and Link frowned, failing to understand what the king’s words meant. He had never seen or found Sidon lacking in that area. If anything, Sidon was one of the few people who could have taken the Champion’s burden upon his shoulders, if Link hadn’t awoken when he did. He had no doubt about that.

Still, he felt he needed to talk to Sidon about— well, about many things. He nodded as if he understood what the king told him, bowed, and left the throne room hurriedly.

On his way down the winding paths around the Domain, he met various Zora who kept pointing him to the location of the prince. After the fourth one telling him the same place, but slightly different location, he began to suspect something was happening in the Domain that he was not privy to.

However, the problems arose when the stone path became a dirt path and he was preparing to engage his paraglider. Sidon was pushing himself up on the shore right below where Link was standing, the water sluicing down his red and white skin, gleaming in the sun, and Link’s heart jumped into his throat the moment that Sidon looked up and their eyes met.

On instinct, Link’s thumb hit the Sheikah Slate button that teleported him to the nearest shrine.

What was _wrong_ with him? He meant to talk to Sidon. He really did, but whatever that moment was, it made Link’s throat close up and his stomach twist painfully. It never happened befo— well, he had had similar reactions when meeting Sidon, but never that strongly. Just the previous night they had swam— 

He drew in a sharp breath, fingers flexing at his sides. They had swam and it had been incredible, but there had been something different about it. It hadn’t felt impersonal, like the one where Link’s entire concentration had been on hitting the four cages flanking Vah Ruta’s back. 

It had felt— weird. Intimate, maybe. Or rather like Sidon had been trying to affirm something. But maybe that was another of the many Zora customs that Link had not learned about. Maybe that was how Zora showed their gratitude towards the Champion. A way for the royal family to pay their respects.

That was surely what felt different about it.

So _why_ did he act that way earlier when he saw the prince?

“Champion!” a shrill, pleased voice drew him out of his thoughts and he saw Ipha running down the ramp to plaster herself to his leg. She giggled up at him, pulling a smile from him, and then she looked behind him, searching for something. “Where is our prince? Isn’t he with you?”

Link felt like those questions were strangling his throat. He shook his head awkwardly. Ipha’s smile turned into a sad look and Link felt compelled to bend down and pick her up. She giggled again, her fingers gently touching his hair and playing with the little braids in it.

Link brought her out into the sun and then she wriggled in his arms until Link deposited her on the floor, so she could run to her mother.

“Champion,” Kass greeted as he approached him. Link nodded and smiled. “May we have the honour of your presence at my hatchlings’ concert?”

Link was surprised and a bit guilty that he had completely forgotten all about it. He signed ‘of course’ and followed Kass back to the throne room.

***

Amali intercepted him as he was climbing up to the dirt path where minutes ago Link had stood. His heart weighed heavily in his chest, feeling the sting of rejection, made stronger that it came from the Champion. He knew he could not be so lucky as to be able to secure his affections, but he had hoped that they could continue to be friends.

“Prince Sidon, there you are,” Amali said with a warm, motherly smile. “Would you join us in the throne room?”

“Has something happened?”

Amali shook her head. “Nothing bad. My hatchlings have prepared a concert in honour of our Champion and that of King Dorephan. We would be pleased if you would be there.”

“Of course! I would not miss such a noble concert.”

Most of the Zora were gathered in the throne room. It was spacious enough to house all of them and leave space for breathing. All the dignitaries were gathered and the hatchlings were intoning notes, rehearsing with their father as Zora poured in. His father’s booming laughter drew a smile from Sidon, his heartache momentarily lessened as he watched Barta regal his king with amusing stories.

Then, without consciously thinking about it, his gaze searched for Link until he found him, just behind Kass, looking out at the room at large and smiling politely whenever a Zora would stop by to talk to him. Just as one finished and was moving on to his family, Link met his gaze, and it felt as if it had been years and decades since they last saw each other. At least, since Sidon saw him.

He offered a small smile in acknowledgement and then moved towards the other side of the room to stand by his father’s side, even though all he wanted was to be by Link’s side. But the Champion had made his decision and Sidon would respect that.

Which was why he didn’t expect Link to come stand by his side mid-concert. Sidon tried hard to concentrate on the five hatchlings, but he was incredibly aware of his friend. 

They didn’t talk during the song. Nobody did. And when the last note soared across the vaulted ceiling, the entire room erupted in much heartfelt applause. Link was grinning and Sidon couldn’t help but smile, both at him and at the performance. Pride welled in his chest. The Zora were so fortunate to have such wonderful friends.

Then Link stepped up and knelt on one knee in front of the hatchlings. 

In a whisper, he said, “Thank you for such a beautiful song.”

The girls thrilled at that and everyone cheered and applauded once again, his father’s booming laughter being the only one louder than any other sound.

What he didn’t expect was Link stopping in front of him with an expectant look.

“Has something happened?” Sidon asked, worrying that perhaps something had troubled the Champion. No matter what had happened between them earlier, Sidon would do anything to maintain an amiable relationship with him.

Link shook his head, but then stopped abruptly and signed that he wished to speak to Sidon.

“Please do. I am here for you, my friend.”

This time, when Link shook his head, he also signed that he wished to do that somewhere private, which surprised Sidon.

“Of course. Please follow me.”

He took Link back to the shore facing the reservoir where they first swam together. The lake was calm, the sun reflecting from the water. Sidon waited his friend out, hands clasped behind his back, enjoying the summer breeze. He still sneaked glances down at Link, unable to ignore his curiosity and fondness for the Champion.

Then Link looked up and there was such a determined look on his face that Sidon forgot how to breathe, feeling like he was floating.

The moment he signed that he missed Mipha, Sidon crashed back into his body. He looked back over the lake, struggling to gather his thoughts.

“I do, too,” he said softly.

Link had to step forward to grab Sidon’s attention as he signed a question.

“I am quite alright, my friend.” He really made an effort to make his smile fulsome, but he knew it failed. Link’s gaze was steady, albeit sad as he used his hands to tell Sidon that he’d like to hear what happened there during those one hundred years of healing slumber.

So Sidon sat down on the edge, feet half submerged in the cool water, and told Link everything. How the enemies tried to invade the Domain and how his father pushed them back and then years later tried again, but it was Sidon who repelled them, forcing the enemies to meandre on the outskirts of the domain. It took them a few decades to make sure that the path leading in and out of the domain were as enemy-free as they could make it be. They increased the number of guards patrolling and for a while Zora were afraid to leave the Domain, but as time passed and necessity rose, they chanced it.

The sun had reached the other side of the mountain by the time Sidon fell quiet. Throughout his telling, Link had not said a word.

“Some days,” Sidon said quietly, looking down at his swinging legs, “I miss my sister something fierce. Some days, it’s difficult to find a reason to smile. My people understand that because they also miss her just as much.”

A warm touch on his forearm pulls his attention to his left where Link was sitting. His palm covered a small part of his skin, but the heat radiating from this small Hylian and the emotion in his eyes, warmed Sidon to the core.

He smiled. “I apologize, my friend. I did not mean—”

But Link was shaking his head vehemently. He opened his mouth and whispered, “I’m sorry I couldn’t save them back then.”

“No, my friend,” Sidon shook his head, “there is nothing you need to apologize for. You are the Queen’s Champion and if she had not taken you to the healing chamber when she did, you would have died with the other Champions. Nobody blames you or Queen Zelda for what happened back then.” Then a genuine smile, albeit small, wormed its way up on his lips. “I am only grateful that you are here now, whole and unharmed, and that Ganon is no more.”

Link nodded and looked down at the water. His hand stayed on Sidon and he even stopped swinging his legs so as not to jostle it or somehow give the Champion the impression that Sidon didn’t want such physical contact. Oh, how Sidon longed.

Still in a whisper, Link spoke again, “I talked with the queen yesterday. I confessed to her that I had lost my purpose now that Ganon has been defeated.” 

Sidon didn’t say anything, although he wanted to. Hearing the Champion’s voice, even if in a whisper, filled Sidon with such fondness that he remained silent and still so he could hear more. 

“It’s difficult to get used to this. A life of peace. When all I knew was battle.” He looked up at Sidon then, and Sidon was helpless to fall into his eyes at that moment. “She told me that perhaps my purpose now is not a place, but a person.”

That took Sidon aback. Not only did he find out that the Champion’s trouble ran so deep as to have him feel uncomfortable in his own skin, adrift and aimless, but that he was looking for something or rather some _one._

Sidon found his voice to ask, “Have you found that person?” 

Link searched his face for a moment. “I think I have,” he confessed, somehow in a softer tone than before. Sidon needed to lean down even more to hear it.

He leaned back, but not before he placed his hand over Link’s on his forearm. “I’m glad, my friend,” he said, unable to meet that soulful gaze. “I hope this person brings you the peace you need because if anyone deserves that, it’s you, Link.”

“Sidon.” The pressure on his forearm increased as Link used it as leverage to sit up on his knees. “Sidon.” There was desperation in his voice, wrapped painfully around his name. 

He couldn’t not look back at his friend, even if he wanted to jump in the water and swim until his muscles burned. Link was inches away from his face and he was breathing fast. Heat radiated from him in waves, the palm pressed to his skin a brand upon Sidon’s body.

“It’s you,” he whispered, awe trickling in his voice and on his face. 

Sidon felt his face slacken, thoughts crashing down and dispersing like mist at the first rays of sunlight.

“What.”

He was more eloquent than that, but if there was anyone capable of rendering Sidon speechless, it certainly was this impossible Hylian.

“It’s you,” he whispered again, this time with determination, leaning further in. “You’re my purpose.”

“I’m… but…”

“You are, you are,” he murmured the words against his lips before Sidon’s breath caught in his throat as the Champion pressed his warm, chapped lips to Sidon’s cold, smooth ones.

They tingled when Link leaned back, unaccustomed to warmth. He searched Link’s face, trying to find anything that would tell Sidon this was a Hylian custom, something that Sidon didn’t know about where the Champion only wanted to show his gratitude, that this could mean anything other than what Sidon’s big heart thundered furiously after. But he couldn’t find anything like that. So he needed to use his words. Once again.

“Are you— is this— Link, what is the meaning of this?”

Link frowned, but then his eyes widened and he leaned back even more, trying to put distance between them, but Sidon’s hand kept Link’s pressed down.

“No, please,” he said, finding his thoughts hiding behind his shock. “I didn’t mean— it’s— why are words so hard right now?” he asked nobody, sighing explosively. 

He took a moment to himself, his anxiety somewhat appeased by the knowledge that Link would not disappear on him. The hand he was keeping hostage was the one one the same side as his Sheikah Slate. It didn’t mean that he couldn’t do the same thing with his other hand, but Sidon would see that before it happened.

“I want to know,” he said slowly, glancing back at a Champion who looked so scared, something Sidon had never seen before, not even when he was facing Moblins. “Was that a Hylian custom?” Off Link’s frown, Sidon explained, “is that a way for you to show— gratitude? Appreciation? Obligation?”

Link shook his head. He wasn’t actively trying to pull his hand back, so there was that.

“Is it something Hylians do with friends? To show that they appreciate the friendship that binds them?”

Another shake.

“Then,” he swallowed, struggling to gather his thoughts, “am I remiss in thinking that your gesture was born out of feelings that go beyond those of friendship?”

Link stared at Sidon for a moment. They were just breathing. Then the tip of his ears changed colour, and he nodded sheepishly, looking down at their hands.

Sidon felt as if he grew ten sizes, his skin barely able to contain him. He opened his mouth and closed it, but he couldn’t find anything to say that would add to this momentous discovery.

With a slightly trembling hand, he pulled Link’s hand up so that he could press his lips to the warm knuckles. This action pulled Link closer and when their eyes met, Link’s cheeks acquired a darker shade than before, before he brought his other hand to cover the side of Sidon’s and leaned forward to place a kiss on the back of Sidon’s hand.

They sat like that for a while, just breathing each other in, relishing the warmth and coldness of the other, calming themselves down from the rush of emotions both of them seemed to feel.

That was when Sidon remembered something and the knot that settled in his throat upon that realization almost made the earlier joy and peace disappear.

“Link,” he said, the murmur rough and gravelly. He cleared his throat and leaned back a bit to Link’s curious gaze. “I have something to confess to you. It is— something I am not proud of, but you have the right to know.”

The Champion cocked his head to the side, a slight frown dipping the space between his eyebrows.

“I have not been truthful with you, my friend. Rather, I have kept something from you.” Link waited, gaze calm and entirely focused on Sidon. “I— the race— what I did was something no respectable Zora would ever do. Not without letting their intended know first.”

He didn’t pull back from Sidon at that moment, but Sidon feared he would in a moment. Once he knew what Sidon had done.

“I— may have told everybody about my intentions towards you by letting you ride me.”

It didn’t take more than a few seconds for his words to sink in before the tip of Link’s ears took on again that shade of red rare in Hylians. With the hand that had been cupping Sidon’s, Link signed.

‘Your intentions?’

Sidon’s sharp teeth scraped over his lower lip. “I told everybody that you belonged to me,” he said quietly, but firmly, watching Link’s face for any signs of distress.

But Link was not looking back at him in disgust or horror, but rather awe and understanding filled his face. His lips parted and a soft exhale ushered.

“I know I shouldn’t have. I know I should have told you about my inten—”

He couldn’t even gasp, that big was the shock of feeling Link’s lips press feverishly against his cooler ones once again. It was just a press, but the wave of desire and delight that travelled within his entire body pushed him into motion. His hands gathered Link close to his chest and he deepened the kiss until Link gasped. Even then, Link took a deep breath and then dived back in, almost toppling Sidon back.

He was so careless about Sidon’s sharp teeth, that Sidon had to push him back a bit and fight him to gentle the feverish kiss.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered between lungfuls of breath.

The smile Link regaled him with, knocked out the meagre oxygen he managed to take in, and he was powerless to push Link back when he dived in for another toe-curling kiss.

They kissed until Sidon couldn’t feel his lips and the night settled in. Link was cradled close to his chest, legs bent slightly in his lap, head under Sidon’s chin. They were just breathing, drawing comfort from the other as they watched the moon sail across the clear sky.

“You’re like a furnace,” Sidon found himself murmuring.

A moment, and then Link pushed his nose against his chin before he placed a kiss there that tickled a bit. He pressed his hot cheek to Sidon’s as he whispered, “It’s been happening for a while. Every time I’m near you. It’s like my body compensates somehow for your body temperature.”

“Is that a Hylian characteristic?”

Link shrugged, peppering his cheek with little kisses that made Sidon’s heart skip beat after beat. 

“I don’t know, but I’m not complaining.” He pulled back then and grinned at Sidon.

And Sidon— Sidon couldn’t help but kiss him again. And again. Link’s warm chuckles tingled across his skin. It felt like he was falling in love with the Champion all over again.

A throat cleared and they both looked behind them at Muzu, Sidon’s arms tightening around Link.

“My liege, Champion,” he said in that gruff way of his, hands behind his bowed back. “The dignitaries will be leaving first thing tomorrow. The king wishes for both of you to join the feast tonight in their honor.”

“Of course. Thank you, Muzu.”

He nodded once and just before he turned around, Sidon saw his lips twitch up, but he was distracted by Link’s quick kiss to the corner of his mouth before he squirmed his way out of Sidon’s arms.

The hand that Link offered before a fond smile, tugged at Sidon’s heart.

“Will you stay here for a little while more?” Sidon asked, unable to hide the uncertainty and apprehension from his voice.

Link’s smile dimmed, replaced by something else he couldn’t understand. He took a step closer to Sidon and like this, Link was as tall as him. Warm hands framed his cold face and Link pressed his forehead just above his left eye, on the ridge of his forehead.

“For as long as you want me to,” he whispered and Sidon gathered him close, pressing his face into Link’s neck as he trembled.


End file.
